I was a pretty short kid, right up until about my junior year of high school. I didn’t feel like I ever had a real growth spurt, but eventually I attained my present, average height. So I understand what it’s like to be short, and from living in Korea for a couple of years I understand what it’s like to be tall (the average height there is increasing quickly due to better nutrition, but I was still taller than average). And I must say, there is something about being taller than someone that makes you feel a little bit superior in some inexplicable way. It’s not the same for men when they’re taller than women, but I bet women feel it especially strongly when they’re taller than men. And, inversely, I feel a little inferior to those taller than me.

Just for the record, most of the people I know, tall or short, male or female, adult or child, could effortlessly beat me into submission, so I have no idea where the feeling comes from. There’s absolutely no logic behind it, and no physical basis for any sort of superiority. It’s just one of those irrational things about being human. Is it just me, or is this a common thing?